Rovers managed to avenge their opening day defeat by putting in a professional performance that saw Rovers’ late surge towards the playoffs gain momentum at the expense of Charlton Athletic, who were brushed aside, as the Addicks edged closer to the relegation zone.
With the players seemingly dropping like flies due to the intensity of the fixture list, Tony Mowbray made two changes to the side that beat Hull City, 3-0 in the week. John Buckley – who was making his first start of 2020 – and mid-week scorer Dominic Samuel came into the side – the latter for his first start since August 2018 – as they replaced veteran duo Elliott Bennett and Danny Graham, who dropped to the bench. On the bench, alongside the aforementioned pair, was a spot for an academy graduate, in defender Hayden Carter.
As the teams lined-up to begin the tie, it was Rovers who got the game underway, through Adam Armstrong, as Rovers who were backed by 2,063 fans from Lancashire, got the game underway in-front of a packed Valley.
The first chance of the game came inside the first 90 seconds as a long-ball by a Charlton man fell to the feet of Lyle Taylor. Although the forward – who scored the winner in the reverse fixture at Ewood Park – had seemed to have pushed Tosin Adarabioyo, referee Andy Davies waved play on as Taylor took the ball into his stride before shooting. Luckily for Rovers, the failure to spot the push didn’t result in Charlton taking the lead as Christian Walton did well to get down and hold onto the forward’s shot.
On the 5th minute, Tomer Hemed tried his luck from the edge of the area, as he tried to find a gap through a crowd of bodies, however Walton again stood firm to deny the Israeli.
Rovers’ first chance of the game fell to Dominic Samuel who collected Armstrong’s cross-field ball. The forward did superbly well to take the ball down before trying his luck from just inside the area. Unluckily for the forward, his shot was blocked only as far as Bradley Johnson who saw his own effort saved by Charlton ‘keeper Dillon Phillips.
The 17th minute brought a hint of controversy to the tie after Rovers were robbed of what looked like a clear penalty on first viewing. Samuel was played through and was forced down to the floor after pressure by the Addicks skipper Jason Pearce. Rather bafflingly, however, the match official deemed that Samuel had fouled Pearce, who had fallen to the floor prior to Samuel, as he awarded the home side a free-kick.
A minute later, Adam Armstrong nearly secured the ‘Goal of the Season’ competition for himself once and for all, as he spotted Phillips a long way off his line. Although marks can be given to the forward for the effort, the ball ended up skimming off the crossbar and dropping onto the roof of the net.
The 23rd minute saw Rovers again try and break the deadlock through Adam Armstrong. John Buckley did well to slip Armstrong through into the box. Armstrong, who was Rovers’ most dangerous threat throughout the whole half, tried to curl one in from the top of the box, using the defenders as a shield however Phillips did well to save through a crowd of bodies.
Moments later, a Rovers corner fell to Amari’i Bell who tried the spectacular but saw his effort skew wide.
Rovers’ dominance soon paid off in the shape of a John Buckley effort. Rovers built-up the play with some intricate passing that saw Charlton’s midfielders struggling to keep up with the pace of the ball. Buckley did well to drive in from the left-hand side and dummy a few opponents before releasing a low drive that deflected off one of Charlton’s back three and wrongfooted Phillips before nestling into the back of the net to give Rovers the deserved 1-0 lead.
On the 35th minute, Buckley saw yellow after pushing Pearce on halfway.
Two minutes later, Rovers doubled their lead courtesy of Tosin Adarabioyo’s poke home from a few yards out. A Stewart Downing free-kick from the left-hand side saw it evade everyone at the near-post and bounce up invitingly for someone to poke home beyond Phillips. Adarabioyo was the lucky man who connected with the ball as he managed to turn it home from point-blank range in order to double Rovers’ advantage and replicate the scorers who netted in Rovers’ home win against Sheffield Wednesday, back in November.
From the restart, Charlton looked determined to grab a quick-fire reply in order to put Rovers under pressure as the break approached. A long-ball into Rovers’ penalty area saw Taylor peel away from Bell and try a header from just inside the six-yard box. Luckily for Rovers, their lapse in concentration was not punished as Walton, who had spent the last 25 minutes of the game isolated, with nothing to do, was alert enough to produce a fabulous stop to deny Taylor, at the expense of a Charlton corner, which Rovers dealt with.
The 41st minute saw Dominic Samuel become the second Rovers player to go into the book after he fouled former Celtic defender Adam Matthews, inside the home side’s half.
The half-time whistle was soon blown after three minutes of added time materialised to no chances for either side, as referee Andy Davies called time on a good half for Rovers, but a poor half for himself on a personal note, after he missed some glaringly obvious decisions, that had gone straight over his head.
Lee Bowyer would have been furious with how his team had spiralled out of control after a decent start. Although they managed to start well with numerous attempts inside the opening 10 minutes, the Addicks were unable to recapture possession of the ball and mount any efforts, in the period between the opening 10 minutes and the first goal, that troubled Rovers and gave the packed home crowd any confidence.
Tony Mowbray in contrast, would have been pleased with how his side had stifled the game and asserted their dominance over a side who had only won three of their last ten fixtures. The Rovers boss would have been encouraging in his half-time team-talk, making note that the atmosphere could turn toxic if they continued their dominance and it could be something the players could capitalise on. The gaffer would have also made a note that his side could continue being aware of their defensive duties, despite the solid performance, in order to try and maintain the clean sheet.
Once both sides returned for the second-half, it was the home side who the game underway, but not before they could make a change which saw Manchester City loanee Matt Smith introduced in-place of their skipper, Jason Pearce, in a system change for the hosts.
The 55th minute saw Darragh Lenihan awarded his ninth yellow card of the season, following a reckless and needless challenge near the touchline deep inside the Rovers half. Although nothing came of the free-kick, the booking had significance in that, if he picked up his tenth booking, inside the next couple of fixtures, he would fall foul to a two-game ban.
A couple of minutes later, Tosin Adarabioyo tried to grab a brace, following a Rovers corner, however his nod looped over the bar and went behind for a goal-kick.
Charlton soon made their second change of the game on the 59th minute as Aston Villa loanee Andre Green was brought on in-place of Tomer Hemed.
Bradley Johnson came within inches of making it 3-0 after he connected with Downing’s corner, however Phillips was equal to the effort by the towering midfielder.
Minutes later, Charlton managed a rare foray forwards as Andre Green and Aiden McGeady combined. The former teed up the latter whose effort from inside the area deflected off Ryan Nyambe and went behind for a corner, which Charlton failed to capitalise on.
Charlton soon made their final change of the game, on the 69th minute, as Aiden McGeady made way for Macauley Bonne.
The 71st minute saw Rovers come within inches of a third as Dominic Samuel prodded wide from close-range. A spell of possession for Rovers, starting with Adarabioyo, ended with Bell providing Samuel with a low cross which the forward could only turn wide.
Directly after Samuel’s miss, Rovers made their first change of the afternoon as Harry Chapman was brought on, replacing Adam Armstrong who was taken off and ‘wrapped up in cotton wool’ ahead of Saturday.
With the game becoming a chess game with Rovers happy with what they had, Tony Mowbray made his second change of the game on the 81st minute, as he sent on Ben Brereton for Dominic Samuel, the latter of whom reaped the applause of the travelling fans after a display that only lacked a goal to make it perfect.
The 82nd minute saw Lyle Taylor try a free-kick from just outside the penalty area, however his effort lacked the dip required as it rocketed over the bar.
The final Rovers change came before Walton’s goal-kick as Elliott Bennett came on to replace John Buckley who – unlike Samuel – managed to cap off his fantastic performance with a goal.
Christian Walton showed his determination to keep his 11th clean sheet of the season as he pulled off a world-class save to deny West Ham United loanee Josh Cullen from the edge of the area. The ball dropped to Cullen after a good spell of possession for the home side, but he saw his shot fabulously tipped behind for a Charlton corner, which Rovers cleared.
Ben Brereton tried his luck from the 86th minute, however unluckily for the forward, his left-footed shot skewed wide of the target.
As the clock wound down, referee Andy Davies signalled for four additional minutes to be added onto the end of the game, as Charlton looked beaten and dropped deeper and deeper as time ticked on.
Soon, the time ran out for Charlton to stage a fairy-tale comeback in the dying embers of the game, as Andy Davies called time on what had been a convincing performance from a Rovers perspective, at a crucial point in their campaign.
In truth, the game itself wasn’t one that had people on the edge of their seat in suspense and anticipation of a goal, however the game management from Rovers’ perspective was top-class as they managed to overturn some early Charlton pressure in order to silent what could have been a very vociferous crowd, given the increased attendance at The Valley, courtesy of a special deal the new Charlton board had put on to both sets of fans for this encounter. Whilst the players must be credited for doing their job well, Tony Mowbray and his staff must also be commended for their game management, especially with regards to the substitutions which proved key in winding down the clock. Nobody must envy Mowbray, regarding his team selection, given the increasing number of forward players that are unavailable for the Blues, however Mowbray’s gamble once again paid off as his players were able overcome the personnel issues and put in a thoroughly professional performance to increase their playoff hopes, at the expense of putting Charlton and Lee Bowyer further into trouble.
As Rovers extended their good run, which has only seen the side lose one of their last seven games, the league table is looking a lot more prosperous than it did a number of weeks ago. With results today falling in Rovers’ favour, the Blues now finds themselves in 8th after 33 games, with 50 points and a positive 10 goal-difference, with the final playoff spot being occupied by Lancashire rivals Preston North End, who have 53 points. It is certainly a time for Rovers to be looking up, and not over their shoulder, which is magnificent given the seeming injury crisis within the club.
The upcoming fixtures don’t get much easier for Rovers as they make a second trip back down to the nation’s capital on Saturday. The fixture on 22nd February, which kicks-off at 12:30 in the afternoon due to Sky Sports’ coverage, sees the Blues makes their final ever trip to Griffin Park to face fellow playoff hopefuls Brentford. After that trip down south, Rovers return to Lancashire for back-to-back home games against sides beginning with ‘S’. The first of such fixtures sees Ewood Park host Stoke City on Wednesday 26th February at 7:45pm, whilst the following tie sees Rovers welcome Swansea City on ‘leap year day’, with the Welsh side set to play in Lancashire on Saturday 29th February at 3pm.
